


Mr. Mistletoe

by includewomeninthesequel



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 5+1 Things, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Minor Bucky Barnes and Howling Commandos, Mistletoe, Steggy Secret Santa 2020, steggy babies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:07:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28335891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/includewomeninthesequel/pseuds/includewomeninthesequel
Summary: Though their holiday traditions might shift and change throughout the years, there’s one that remains the same.Or, five times that Steve caught Peggy under the mistletoe, and one time she caught him.
Relationships: Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers
Comments: 14
Kudos: 59





	Mr. Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

> This is my gift for tumblr user @sersi for the 2020 Steggy Secret Santa. 
> 
> I essentially tried to shove in as many holiday traditions, Christmas fluff, and general shenanigans as I physically could.

**»»————- ✼ ————-««**

**1\. December 2nd, 1949 - First Christmas (of the rest of our lives)**

Other than joining the Jarvises for some of their Hanukkah celebrations, Peggy had admitted to Steve that the only other holiday traditions that she’d established and maintained post-war had included a mandatory drinks night with Angie if they were both in the same city, and her begrudging attendance at the yearly work Christmas functions, along with whatever ridiculously large holiday party Howard was inevitably throwing around this time of year.

“Besides, I usually end up working in some form or another anyway,” she shrugged offhandedly as way of explanation.

That made Steve all the more determined to make sure this Christmas, their first together after his return - and their first as a married couple - was extra special.

When he discovered that the only holiday decorations Peggy had in her home were limited to one small faded brown box, he decided that it was a perfect opportunity for a new tradition to be born.

“Are you planning on lighting the entire neighbourhood?” Peggy asked him amusedly when she returned from work early that afternoon to find the fruits of the shopping trip that he’d taken earlier that day.

“I couldn’t decide on a colour,” he admitted sheepishly.

“So you went with all of them?”

“Well, we need to decorate the tree _and_ the outside of the house,” he reasoned.

“You make it seem as though we live in one of Howard’s mansions with the amount of decorations you’ve bought, darling.”

“Better safe than sorry?”

Peggy chuckled and shook her head fondly before picking up a nearby wreath and examining it.

“Well I suppose we’d better get started if we want to be done by the time Father Christmas comes by.”

»»————- ✼ ————-««

Even though Peggy had been joking, neither of them could have imagined the actual effort that it would take to decorate the entire house in one go. Growing up, both their families had done smaller scale decorations (but for different reasons). A proper Christmas celebration was an impossible dream during the war, and after he was unfrozen, he never decorated anything himself (if at all).

Still, between the two of them they had enough stubbornness that they kept on well into the night. Steve had been in charge of the lights along the roof, the ones outside along the large living room window and on the porch rail. Peggy coordinated all the interior decorations, except for the tree, which they decorated together (though she made Steve choose on either red or blue as the base for their colour scheme, not both).

“I will not have my Christmas tree look like the American flag, thank you very much,” she informed him while they untangled the lights.

Finally, when all was said and done, it was well past midnight, but they took their time to look through their hard work, starting from the outside of the house to each room inside.

“Well,” Steve finally asked as they returned to the living room. “What do you think?”

“It’s all so perfect.”

The faraway quality to Peggy’s voice made him glance over at her. She seemed to be lost in a reverie as she stared at the lights on the Christmas tree, a soft smile on her face.

Not for the first time in the 8 months since he’d been back, Steve had to take a moment to catch his breath at the sight of his wife. The lights of the tree covered her with a warm, but cheery glow. Her wedding ring - the one that used to belong to his mother - caught the same light, creating an extra little twinkle around her.

He walked up to Peggy slowly, but deliberately, making sure that she heard him (he’d caught an elbow or two to his gut by accidentally sneaking up on her in their first days together).

Once he was certain that she knew he was there, Steve stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her from behind. His hands landed on her waist. Peggy leaned back into him and placed her hands over Steve’s, her fingers sliding into the gaps his own made.

“Hi,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to her temple.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she asked, still gazing at the tree.

“Yeah, you are,” he grinned.

“Steve,” she chided half-heartedly, and he could practically hear the way she rolled her eyes.

“May I have this dance, Mrs. Rogers?”

“There’s no music playing, Mr. Carter.”

He could hear the smile in her voice as he kissed the sensitive spot behind her ear.

“You’re all the music I need.”

“Since when are you such a charmer?”

“Since I realized I needed to step up my game if I was going to come back.”

“Yes because travelling through time clearly wasn’t enough, you big flirt,” she joked right before he spun her around in his arms.

As she laughed softly, Steve held her just the way she showed him the night he’d arrived. His movements were smoother than they were from the first time she’d showed him how, months of practice having settled into his bones as though it was second nature. But the one thing that hadn’t changed was how his heart always seemed to race when he pulled her close, or the feeling of never wanting to let her go.

“Do you ever think about how lucky we are?” Peggy whispered, bringing his thoughts back to the present.

“Every day,” he whispered as he twirled her a bit closer to the tree.

After a moment, he added.

“And I think we just got luckier.”

Peggy tilted her head back to raise a questioning eyebrow, but followed his gaze to where he had hung a mistletoe hung on one of the highest branches on the tree. She rolled her eyes fondly.

“Don’t think I didn’t see you hang that,” she smirked.

“Figured it was worth a shot,” he grinned.

“You do realize it’s not _technically_ above our heads.”

“It’s taller than us,” he countered.

“It’s also a few inches off to the left.”

“Touché,” he sighed. “So does this mean I won’t be getting a mistletoe kiss?”

Peggy hummed thoughtfully as she considered his question before finally tilting her head up until their lips were almost touching.

“I suppose I’ll allow it this once.”

Steve didn’t need to be told twice.

**»»————- ✼ ————-««**

**2\. December 24th, 1951 - First Time Santa Clauses**

The sound of Steve’s footsteps preceded his voice as he crept down the stairs. It still marvelled Peggy how light he could be on his feet despite his size.

“Okay Sarah’s asleep,” Steve whispered once he’d entered the kitchen, as Peggy set about putting the now cooled gingersnap cookies on the small candy cane striped plate.

“I should certainly hope so after five entire lullabies,” Peggy teased without taking her eyes off her task. “Sometimes I really do wish she’d go down easier - and sleep more.”

“12 hours a day isn’t enough for you?”

“A lot of those 12 hours overlaps with our own sleep,” she pointed out. “And otherwise it seems to be the only time when I can get you properly undressed nowadays, which is a terrible pity.”

“Keep it in your pants, Carter,” he smirked. “We have a job to do.”

“Oh if I must,” she sighed dramatically. “For the greater good.”

“Does that mean you’re ready to begin all of our very important Santa responsibilities?” he asked her seriously.

She raised the filled plate of cookies with a sly grin.

“One step ahead of you, my darling.”

Steve’s face lit up and he grabbed the glass of milk she’d previously poured, along with the plate that held a carrot. She followed him with the plate of cookies to the living room and helped him arrange their set up on the coffee table.

“That was the easy part,” she told him, her gaze shifting to all the remaining unwrapped presents on the floor.

While Steve managed to get most of the wrapping done beforehand, there were still the gifts they were bringing to their Christmas dinner with the Barnes family.

“Then we better get started,” he grinned as they each took a seat on the floor.

“We should have started on these sooner,” Peggy sighed after they were each about five presents in. “How many bloody Barnes are there?”

“They multiply faster than most others,” Steve joked. “But the family’s grown even more in the last few years since Bucky’s sisters are all married now and most of them are having kids left, right and centre.”

“And since you’re an honorary Barnes I’m assuming we’re lumped into that category?”

“You bet we are,” he grinned.

Peggy’s only response to that was an undignified snort.

Finally, after the presents for all the Barnes were wrapped, they began working on Sarah’s - arguably the most important of the night. While Peggy wrapped Sarah’s gift from the two of them, Steve worked on the one she was to receive from Father Christmas.

She finished the bear in a pinch, setting it under the tree, only to find that Steve was still wrapping. She furrowed her brows and watched him as he moved at the same speed as a snail, as though inspecting every fold. It was only when he winced at the sound of an unplanned crinkle that she realized he was trying to be overly discreet.

“You didn’t have to be so sneaky, Steve. Sarah’s not going to remember any of this, she’s five months old after all,” Peggy told him fondly once he’d finally finished wrapping the gift and placed it under the tree.

“But it’s her _first_ Christmas, Peg.”

“I’m well aware, darling.”

“Which means we have to make sure it’s extra special.”

Peggy’s heart melted at the pure sincerity and determination in his eyes. She smiled softly and walked to him, holding his face in her hands.

“It will be,” she promised. “It’ll be extra special _because_ it’s her first Christmas, and because she has a wonderful father who is so dedicated to his daughter’s happiness that he is willing to drive his incredibly patient wife mad with the pace he’s chosen to wrap her present from Father Christmas.”

Her words had the desired effect. Steve let out a laugh and wrapped his arms around her.

“All right I see your point,” he grinned. “But you know, we should still be seeing this as a prime opportunity to practice.”

“Practice?” she asked, arching her eyebrow up.

“Practice being sneaky while wrapping last minute gifts.”

“You do know I’m a trained spy, right darling? Last I checked, being sneaky is in the job description.”

“Which means that our kids will grow up to be just like their incredible mother and we’re going to have a harder time than most parents keeping the secret of Santa going.”

Peggy arched her eyebrow up amusedly and rested her hands on his shoulders.

“Kids plural?”

Steve paused.

“Yes?”

“How many more children did you have in mind?”

“Uh well-”

“Are you going to be the one having these children, Mr. Carter?”

Steve’s eyes widened comically as he realized his blunder.

“Of course not, I only thought - I mean I didn’t think - of course it would be completely up to-”

“At ease, soldier,” she interrupted with a mischievous smile. “You’re still so easy to fluster.”

Steve relaxed, a beautiful shade of pink creeping onto his cheeks.

“For the record, you’re the only one who can do that,” he began. “And secondly, even though I would be up for more kids, I want you to know that I would be over the moon if Sarah’s our only one. I have you, that’s all I want.”

“Me too, my darling,” she whispered. “How about we take it one step at a time, hm?”

Steve nodded and kissed her forehead.

“Deal.”

He then pulled them both down on the couch before reaching out and grabbing two cookies. After handing her one, he tipped his in her direction.

“To our first holiday as parents - and as Santa.”

“Father Christmas,” Peggy corrected, but leaned forward to tap her cookie against his.

They munched on their cookies in silence, Peggy curling against Steve’s side, content to let him eat the bulk of the gingersnaps they’d made earlier that evening, along with the reindeer’s carrot.

As he polished off the milk, Peggy’s thoughts drifted to more Christmases they would have together. With each new image that popped in her head she imagined the sound of more little feet pattering on the floor, more awed gasps every time they lit up the lights on the Christmas tree for the first time.

More presents for Steve to wrap painstakingly slow the night before, the stakes rising more each year.

“I think I’d like a few more,” she said abruptly.

“A few more?” he asked, eyebrows furrowed as he looked over at her.

“Children,” she clarified, looking up at him.

She could hear his breath catch.

“Children plural?”

Her smile grew.

“Yes, children plural.”

“Really?” he whispered, and she knew he was trying to contain his own excitement.

“How could I feel otherwise, when you would be their father?”

Steve kissed her suddenly and deeply, and she let out a muffled noise of surprise. He tasted like the gingersnaps they’d just eaten and something that was so unequivocally _Steve_.

Before long, he was pulling her onto his lap and running his hands up and down her sides.

Not for the first time that week, or even this day, Peggy wondered how she had come to deserve this. To have Steve back, with a daughter, and an _entire_ life that they were building together?

“Guess I won’t be needing this after all,” he breathed out when their lips parted.

Peggy furrowed her eyebrows until he pulled out mistletoe from his pant pocket, hanging it over their heads.

“Really Steve?”

He merely shrugged, but he had a shit eating grin on his face. Peggy grinned in returned and leaned forward to whisper in his ear.

“What do you say you unwrap the first part of _your_ present, Mr. Carter?”

“Yes please,” he whispered.

**»»————- ✼ ————-««**

**3\. December 5th, 1953 - Tree Picking and Cutting**

“Tree, tree, tree, tree, tree, tree!” the little blonde toddler chanted from her spot in the back seat as Steve parked the car.

“That’s right, peanut,” he grinned. “It’s tree picking time.”

“And this year is special because we’re cutting down the tree ourselves this time,” Peggy added before getting out of the car to check on Elise (sometimes affectionately called Ellie) - who was barely three months old.

“Yeah!” Sarah cheered, bouncing in place while Steve moved to unbuckle her.

Peggy carefully transferred Elise to the baby sling that she was wearing over her jacket, adjusting it around the little brunette’s extra layers of clothing.

“How’s my little ladybug?” Steve asked Peggy as he helped Sarah leap out of the car.

“She’s fast asleep,” she answered, kissing her head.

Even though only Elise’s purple hat was visible, Peggy could see the way Steve’s eyes softened when he looked at her.

_Sap_ , she couldn’t help but think fondly.

“Ready, peanut?” Steve asked Sarah as she took his hand.

“Yeah!” she squealed happily, her bright blue eyes blazing with excitement.

When Peggy was in reach, Sarah reached out with her free hand expectantly, and once she had a firm grip on both her parents, they set about their way.

Due to her short legs, and the fact that she was still mastering how to walk in general, they took their time with the walk around the farm.

However, Sarah still took her job as expert tree picker _very seriously_. She pointed out every tree of note, but ever the perfectionist - something she got from Peggy, (though Steve would never say that out loud) it took them a while before they finally found a tree that she fell in love with.

“Here!” she declared enthusiastically, tugging both her parents closer and almost stumbling in the process.

They both chuckled and allowed themselves to be pulled, taking Sarah on a walk around the tree so she could inspect it from all angles.

“What do you think?” Steve asked her.

“This one,” Sarah declared.

“I completely agree, peanut. It’s perfect.”

“It is a beautiful tree… but doesn’t it seem a bit tall?” Peggy inquired, tilting her head slightly.

“It looks just right to me.”

“I think it may be just a titch tall.”

“If it’s just a _titch_ then that means it’s nothing we can’t handle,” he grinned.

Peggy arched her eyebrow up at him.

“And if it’s more than a titch, my darling?”

“It’ll be perfect, nonetheless,” he promised. “Besides, do you want to be the one who says no to her?”

She looked down at Sarah, who was bouncing with excitement between them, her eyes wide and bright. Elise then chose that moment to stir in her sleep. Though she was very constricted in her potential movements by the sling, she managed to nuzzle her head properly over Peggy’s heart.

Peggy sighed and soothed down little Ellie’s hat, a small admittance of defeat.

“I’m getting soft,” she murmured to herself.

Steve chuckled and gratefully kissed her cheek. Peggy grabbed the tree to support it with one hand, while keeping a hold of Sarah’s hand.

“You want to count for me, peanut?”

“Yeah!”

“How about you, Peg?”

“Yeah!” Sarah answered for her.

Peggy laughed.

“Alright let’s do it together then, shall we?” she agreed.

Sarah nodded enthusiastically.

“One, two, three!”

With Steve’s strength, it didn’t take long to cut the tree down. Once it was loose, Sarah began cheering loudly enough that Ellie began to whimper and wriggle.

“I know, my little bug. You must be getting hungry,” Peggy cooed, catching her hat as Elise threw it off of her head. “We’ll be home soon.”

“That’s right,” Steve agreed with a grin as Elise continued to fuss. “Besides, the sooner we get home, the sooner we can decorate.”

Sarah agreed heartily and began tugging on Peggy’s hand to lead them back.

Neither of them could even hide how much she enjoyed the the sight of Steve hoisting the tree over his shoulder and carrying it, as though it hardly weighed anything.

»»————- ✼ ————-««

As Peggy breastfed Elise on the couch, and Sarah sat at her feet playing with her pant hem, Steve brought the tree in and began setting it up.

While the girth of this tree was wider than their previous trees, Steve never had any problem doing these kinds of jobs singlehandedly.

And did Peggy ever love watching him work.

The problem, however, became apparent the moment Steve tried to set the tree upright.

“Having a bit of trouble there, darling?” she asked innocently, trying (and failing) to keep a straight face.

“I’m doing just fine, Peg,” he grunted as he tried to be gentle with it, but she could have sworn that the tree was beginning to fight back.

Sarah for her part, had no qualms about keeping her daddy’s pride intact, and immediately blurted:

“Too tall!”

Peggy had to stifle her snort so that Elise could finish suckling with ease. Sarah, having no such things to take into consideration, began giggling from her spot on the floor the longer that the process of getting the tree set up went on.

Her giggles started alternating with enthusiastic cheering as it seemed that while Peggy placed the burp cloth on her shoulder and maneuvered her youngest daughter to rest her head on her shoulder.

At this point Peggy could have sworn that if Steve lost this fight with the tree, Sarah might not mind half as much as she would have earlier today.

Ellie, thoroughly unbothered by her father’s woes and her mother and sister’s amusement, managed a very hearty burp which made Peggy coo proudly at her.

Just as Peggy had rid herself of the cloth and set herself and Elise back to rights, there was an audible _snap_.

When she looked back at the tree, it was standing upright, though the top branch was now certainly a few inches shorter and flush against the ceiling.

“See? Told you it would be perfect, Peg,” he announced triumphantly as he stood and began to shake the pine needles from his hair and shoulders.

“Very good, my darling, but how do you expect for us to put the star on top?”

Frowning, Steve looked back at the tree. Realizing the conundrum, his shoulders slumped. Then, just as quickly as he’d been defeated, he turned back to Peggy with a sly smile on his face.

Peggy raised her eyebrow as he purposefully crossed toward her. While he helped her stand, she adjusted Elise against her, who was currently very preoccupied with the collar of Peggy’s blouse.

“Would it work if I said that you’re the only star I need?” he asked.

“Flattery won’t get you anywhere you haven’t already been, soldier.”

Steve’s smile grew and he pulled her against him by her hips.

“And what if I want to go there again?”

“Oh you’re insatiable,” she told him with a smirk, smacking his shoulder lightly.

Elise was seemingly delighted by the sound made by Peggy’s hand hitting his shoulder. She reached for his other shoulder and began patting it.

Not one to be left out, Sarah scooted over and began tapping both the floor and Steve’s feet, and she even began humming something of a tune to go along with it.

“See what you’ve done?” Steve asked Peggy amusedly.

The rhythm of both their tapping and Sarah’s humming suddenly gave Peggy an idea.

“You know, I’ve just had a thought. We already have a star in our midst that doesn’t have to go on top of the tree.”

“We do?” Steve asked confusedly.

“That we do, love.”

“Star!” Sarah grinned as she continued her musical explorations.

Ellie also cooed in agreement, though they both had no idea what they’d just agreed to.

“What star?”

“Oh come now Steve you must remember,” she said seriously. “This star is strong and brave, here to save the American way.”

“Wait,” Steve frowned as he realized where she was headed.

“Who has vowed to fight like a man for what's right night and day?” she continued on, her voice turning more sing-songy, side stepping him as she began to dance around with Elise who was now in a fit of giggles.

“Peggy,” he complained half-heartedly.

“Who will campaign door-to-door to America? Carry the flag shore-to-shore for America?”

Sarah laughed as she clapped along.

“From Hoboken to Spokane,” she continued on, full out singing now as Sarah managed to get on her feet and join in on Peggy and Elise’s dancing.

“Oh my god,” Steve groaned, but he was now laughing softly while Peggy carefully spun Sarah around in circles.

“The star spangled man with a plan!” she sang out loudly.

“Again! Again!” Sarah exclaimed, jumping up and down, but not even Peggy’s hand in hers could help her when she stumbled and fell on her bum.

Nevertheless, she continued giggling and chanting “again” between breaths.

“What do you say, Ellie, baby?” Peggy asked, tickling her side.

Elise laughed and cooed happily, squirming in Peggy’s arms.

“Well?” she asked Steve next, propping a hand on her hip expectantly, unable to contain her own laughter. “What do you say, my star? Or do you prefer I call you Mr. Man with a Plan?”

“Next year, we’re bringing a measuring tape,” was his only answer, but he had a wide smile on his face.

“Now where’s the fun in that?” Peggy grinned, clearing her throat dramatically, fully intent on finishing the rest of the song.

She didn’t stop until Steve pulled out the mistletoe he always seemed to be carrying around this time of year.

Even then, she allowed herself the personal pleasure of belting out the final note before allowing him to catch her, both of them breathless with laughter as their lips met.

**»»————- ✼ ————-««**

**4\. December 15th, 1956 - First Word (A Tale of Too Many Santas)**

“That’s it my little prince,” Peggy encouraged Michael as he tossed the soft ball back to her.

“Boo-dah.”

“Mumma,” she corrected as she rolled the ball back to him. “You can do it.”

“Ba-buuu,” he giggled as he grabbed the ball again.

Peggy gave him a warm smile. At just nine months old he was turning out to be the spitting image of his father. Though he was a bit smaller than Sarah and Elise had been at his age, he was just as excitable and active.

And on the verge of saying his first word.

Sarah’s first word has been “dada” and Elise’s had been “mumma”. Which naturally meant that Michael would have to be the tiebreaker.

Michael laughed as he tossed the ball again, this time his aim so overzealous that Peggy had to crawl across the floor to fetch it.

“Buh-mah.”

“Very close!” Peggy gasped, quickly turning back to him and rolling the ball back. “If you keep this up we’ll be done before dinner.”

“Are you cheating again?”

Peggy turned around sharply again to find Steve standing in the doorway of the nursery, hands on his hips in an accusatory fashion.

“I have no idea what you mean, darling.”

Steve offered his hand to help her up, which Peggy accepted. He then bent down and scooped up Michael, who giggled and began playing with the edge of Steve’s apron with the hand that wasn’t currently holding his favourite toy.

“Really? So you weren’t trying to encourage Michael to say _mumma_ just now?”

“That is quite a serious accusation, Mr. Carter,” she informed him.

“There’s no need to be a sore loser, Mrs. Rogers.”

“That would imply that you’ve won. Which you haven’t, nor will you.”

Steve raised his eyebrow, though he was grinning.

“We’ll see about that.”

He leaned down to kiss her, when Michael decided that was the perfect moment to toss the ball at his head.

Peggy’s laughter joined Michael’s little giggles.

“I think he’s on my side,” she told Steve happily. “Which is why I’ll win.”

“This isn’t over yet, Peg.”

She grinned and quickly pecked his lips before Michael could intervene.

“Do you know exactly when the Commandos will be arriving?”

“They should be here soon.”

“Well I should certainly hope so. Ana and Mr. Jarvis will be by with Sarah and Elise any moment and we shan’t hear the end of it if they have to wait for dinner any longer than necessary.”

“With our luck they’ll be late and we’ll be the ones waiting,” Steve joked.

“No matter that this dinner happens at the same time every year, at least one of them fails to arrive on time,” she agreed fondly.

Steve laughed, but his response was interrupted by the doorbell.

“Boh!” Michael gasped.

“Yeah it’s the door. You want to come with me, buddy?”

“Bah!”

Both of them chuckled and Peggy kissed Michael’s head gently before looking up at Steve.

“You heard your commanding officer,” she teased. “Off you go, soldier.”

“Very funny.”

She swatted his ass lightly before he was out of her reach. Though he only paused for a moment to throw a look at her, his eyes held a promise of later before he went back to his task as the doorbell rang again.

Peggy took a moment to sigh contentedly before setting about cleaning up Michael’s toys from the floor. Sarah and Elise were currently spending some quality time with Ana, who had wanted to take them dress shopping (though Peggy highly suspected that they were also out buying her, Steve’s, and Michael’s holiday gifts). This however, meant that Steve had had more than enough time uninterrupted in the kitchen to make their dinner, and had given Peggy plenty of quality time with Michael.

If it gave her the opportunity to try and sway him into saying her name first, then that was just the cherry on top of a wonderful afternoon.

Before she could get too far in her work, however, the loud bustle below her informed Peggy that not only had it been the Commandos who had arrived first, but that they were arguing about something. Frowning, she set down the block she was holding and went to see what was wrong.

“This is not my fault, I clearly said that it would be _me_.”

“What on earth is going on here?” Peggy asked as she descended the stairs.

Her question, however, was unfortunately answered at the sight before her.

There were no less than seven Father Christmases in her foyer of varying statures and builds, all bickering with each other. In the middle of the sea of red and white was Steve with Michael still perched on his hip. The latter looked to be entranced by Dernier’s fake fluffy beard, and it was only Falsworth’s interception that stopped Michael from pulling it clean off as Steve was speaking to Happy Sam.

The conversations stopped when Peggy made herself known.

“Not that I’m not happy to see you lot well and in one piece, but why are you all dressed the same?” she asked. "As Father Christmas of all things?”

“Last year you mentioned that you’ve never had a successful visit to Santa with the kids,” Jones began.

“So we thought that if they got to meet Santa in their own home, it would be more comfortable, and if one of us dressed up as him, we’d be familiar enough so that no one would start crying,” Bucky explained.

“And _I_ was the one who is supposed to be playing Santa,” Dugan finished.

“No we agreed _I_ would be the Santa,” Morita argued.

“Fellas, we really appreciate the sentiment and the effort,” Steve intervened before they could start arguing again. “But we can only have one Santa when the girls get back which will be very soon.”

“Which is why we all came here dressed like this,” Falsworth explained.

“Come again?” Peggy asked with a frown.

“We wanted you to see us all side-by-side so you to choose who’s going to be Santa,” Jones told them, though he looked slightly distracted by Michael’s newfound fascination with the pompom of his hat.

“So, who’s it gonna be?” Happy Sam asked. “I won’t mind if it’s not me.”

“San-taah.”

Every head in the room suddenly turned to look at Michael, who was still perched on Steve’s hip and now giggling in Bucky’s direction.

“Michael?” Steve asked.

“Santa,” he repeated, more enunciated this time, pointing at Bucky before moving his hand in Dernier’s direction. “Santa!”

“Is that-”

“His first word,” Peggy finished for Steve.

Michael repeated the process with each of the Commandos in the room, finding more joy every time he set his eyes on a new one.

“His first word is Santa?”

“It certainly is, darling.”

“Well…” Steve began, taking in the way Michael had created a game out of pointing to the various Santas in the room at random. “I guess I win.”

Peggy scoffed.

“How on earth does that mean that you win?”

“Because he said Santa and not Father Christmas, which you say more often than Santa.”

Peggy gawked at him incredulously.

“Now that is not fair, Rogers, and you know it.”

“It is too.”

“Father Christmas is not on the same level of pronunciation for a baby as Santa is, which makes this unfair. You can’t expect a baby to say Father Christmas.”

“I win,” he reiterated. “Tell her Buck.”

“Oh no I am staying out of this,” Bucky said, though he used a deeper, more Santa-like voice, which made Michael giggle.

“Jones-” Peggy began.

“Nope,” he answered immediately, holding his hands up in mock surrender.

A quick look around was enough to tell her that no one was willing to be the tie-breaker. It seemed that after all these years they’d certainly learned a thing or two about self-preservation.

“Sure, now you’re all silent,” Peggy muttered to herself before a new idea dawned to her. “I’ll tell you what, whoever offers their opinion in this matter first gets to be Father Christmas for our children this year.”

As Michael remained endlessly entertained with Jones’ hat, the room froze as the Commandos all quickly weighed the benefits of being able to be what Peggy was sure to be their children’s first Father Christmas of many to come, versus the potential cost of weighing in on a Carter-Rogers debate.

Finally, just when Peggy thought she would need to rethink her strategy, Bucky took a step forward.

“I’m with Carter.”

“ _What?”_ Steve frowned.

“Steve, you’re my best friend, but if there is anything I’ve learned, it’s to stay on Carter’s good side at all costs.”

“Ha,” Peggy cheered triumphantly before turning to Bucky. “Congratulations, _Santa_.”

“Santa!” Michael cheered in agreement, making grabby hands to him.

“Come here little one,” he grinned, taking Michael in his arms. “Have you been a good boy this year?”

While Michael started babbling and grabbing at his beard, Peggy turned to the rest of them.

“We can start a rotation to make sure you all get a chance at some point or another and no one has to wait nearly a decade for that to happen. But for now, let’s see about setting up a chair for Father Christmas over here and turning the rest of you lot either back to yourselves, or perhaps even elves before the girls return, shall we?”

“Speaking of elves,” Dugan grinned, pulling something red, white, and a little bit green from his pocket and tossing it at Steve. “Here’s that thing you wanted, Cap.”

Peggy looked at it curiously before realizing what it was.

A Santa hat with an obscenely large mistletoe hanging from it.

Steve looked so ridiculous when he put it on and waggled his eyebrows at her that it took Peggy an entire minute to stop laughing before she could proceed with tradition.

**»»————- ✼ ————-««**

**5\. December 6th, 1957 - Holiday Card Decorating**

Steve carefully opened the door to his and Peggy’s bedroom. On the off-chance that she was sleeping, he didn’t want to wake her.

However, he found her leaning against the small mountain of pillows arranged against the headboard, book in her hand, with their recently adopted rescue dog, a Husky Ellie had named Snowball, curled up at Peggy’s feet.

“I hoped you’d be sleeping.”

“In my defence, I almost fell asleep, but _your_ dog decided that would be the perfect time to begin his snoring right by my ear.”

“So you’ve banished him to the foot of the bed?” he asked amusedly, glancing over at Snow, who looked decidedly dismayed at the fact that he couldn’t be curled up against Peggy’s upper body, as had been his usual position since she and their newborn, Amanda, had come home from the hospital.

“I’m sure he’ll sweet talk his way back up here. But until he does, tell me, what is on the docket for today, my darling?” Peggy asked Steve with a disarming smile as she set aside her book.

“You are going to rest and not be any more vertical than you already are.”

“I’ve spent the last three weeks resting,” she complained as Snow adjusted himself so that his head was resting on top of her calves.

“And the doctor says you’ll need at least another three,” Steve reminded her, earning him an annoyed huff from his wife.

Peggy’s last pregnancy had been harder than the others. While she downplayed her own discomfort for his sake, after about 20 weeks in, he’d seen how much more tired she was, how difficult it became for her to move around during the later portion of her pregnancy.

The doctor had told them that Peggy’s blood pressure was a bit on the high side, but as long as they kept an eye on it, everything would be fine.

Amanda - known to them now often as their little panda bear - had been born tiny compared to their other three children, but she was thankfully perfectly healthy.

Peggy, however, was a little worse for wear following the birth, and was ordered to be on strict bedrest for at least 6 weeks.

And Steve would be damned if he didn’t do everything in his power to take care of her and make sure she got better.

Even if she was a terrible patient.

“But that doesn’t mean I don’t have a plan for today, one that involves you, Mrs. Rogers.”

“Is that so?” she grinned.

“You bet.”

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her head. Then, after gently prodding Snow to get off Peggy’s legs, he scooped her up in one fluid motion.

“What’s going on in that devious mind of yours, Mr. Carter?” she teased as she looped her arms around his neck, though Steve saw her wince slightly at the movement.

“Trust me, Mrs. Rogers,” he grinned.

He carried her down the stairs to the living room, where he, with the help of Sarah, Elise, and Michael, had set up all of their card decorating supplies, along with Amanda’s bassinet, where the youngest Carter was currently sleeping.

“Surprise!” they all whisper-screamed excitedly when they saw Peggy and Steve, Snow right behind them.

“What’s all this?”

“We’re decorating Christmas cards together,” Elise explained with a large grin.

“But doesn’t that normally happen in the dining room?”

“Daddy said that if we did it here then you could help,” Sarah told her. “Since you can’t sit in a real chair for a while.”

“Did he now?” Peggy asked, a bright smile on her face.

“You didn’t think we’d make Christmas cards without you, did you?” he countered, pressing a kiss to her temple.

He gingerly set her on the couch, with her back resting against one of the arms and a small pile of pillows, her legs stretched out along the length of it. Once she was settled, Steve covered her with a blanket, and Snow immediately hopped up on the couch and laid himself across Peggy’s legs.

“And here I thought he was _my_ dog,” Steve teased, earning him a good-natured eye roll from his wife.

While normally Peggy was the one to provide the blank cards and Steve was the one to guide and oversee the artistic creation of them, he knew that Peggy had been lamenting the loss of her ability to physically participate in some of their other traditions.

He wanted to make sure that she didn’t feel left out, and that she knew that the kids were still more than excited to have her here with them as they carried out their traditions, even if they had to adapt their execution.

Truth be told, Steve guessed that he ended up spending more time watching Peggy and the kids, and less time helping than he normally did.

After Steve helped Ellie and Michael get set up with their first cards, and Peggy offered guidance on the Hanukkah-centred poem Sarah was trying to write for her Aunt Ana and Uncle Edwin, Peggy somehow became the designated go-to person to help with glitter application (which resulted in Sarah and Elise practically camping out beside the couch while they worked, as they were both currently going through very strong glitter phase). Steve spent most of his time writing inside of Michael’s cards (which his little prince was helping dictate now that he was able to string together some very short sentences).

Peggy was also deemed as the final, very official stamp of approval. Every time one of the kids would come up to her to show the latest card they’d made, Peggy would ooo and aaah appropriately, which would earn her a bright smile, always companied by a loud smacking kiss to her cheek or a hug.

For their part, Amanda and Snow each rested peacefully in their respective locations throughout the decorating process, though every now and again Snow would decide that he’d need to spread out more and more along Peggy's legs.

He still, however, refused to leave the couch.

Amanda started fussing when they had just about cleaned up the glitter and decorations, so Steve picked scooped her out of her bassinet, figuring that she was about due for a feeding anyhow.

At three weeks old she was a wrinkly little thing with brown eyes and only the faintest traces of brown hair, and she was still far too small.

Steve couldn’t love her more if he tried.

He passed their little panda bear to Peggy so that she could feed her, while Steve got Sarah, Ellie, and Michael to help him with the last few steps of their annual card tradition.

Elise helped Michael stuff the cards in the envelopes, which they would then pass to Steve. Sarah would read out the appropriate name and address so that Steve could write it down as needed.

Then the three children each took turns licking the stamps that Steve then put on the envelopes. Once an envelope was done, then it went in the “to be mailed” pile. The ones that weren’t going to be mailed and were instead going to be wrapped with presents went in the “present” pile.

“Alright, everyone go wash your hands for dinner,” Peggy told them with a grin once they’d declared this event a complete success.

“Sarah, please help your brother,” Steve reminded her.

“You know it, dad,” Sarah replied cheerily.

Peggy gave them each a messy kiss on each of their cheeks before they raced each other to the bathroom, excited with knowing that their meal was one of the many homemade meals that Jarvis had been preparing for them since Peggy and Amanda’s return.

“That was great,” Steve said with a wide grin once the kids were out of earshot.

“I’m just surprised we managed to finish it all in one go,” Peggy joked. “I can’t believe we know that many people."

“Actually, there’s one card left.”

“What, which one?” she frowned, looking around the space as much as she could from her vantage point without disturbing Amanda.

“This one,” Steve said with an almost shy grin, pulling it out from where he had hidden it underneath his notebook. “It’s for you.”

Peggy bit her lip as she realized his intentions.

“And to think I had all this time and still haven’t made yours yet,” she joked.

Steve laughed and kneeled on the floor beside the couch and handed it to her. He watched her eyes soften at the sight of the drawing on the front, the corners of her mouth moving upwards in a soft smile.

It was an intricately detailed mistletoe that took up the majority of the card, with Christmas lights that decorated the border.

“Did you lose your regular mistletoe, darling?” she teased.

“I figured I have an unfair advantage this year since you’re basically confined to the bed and couch. I thought this was a better alternative.”

She laughed softly and placed a hand on his cheek, her fingers playing with the beard hair that he’d let grow out longer than what was normal before kissing his other cheek.

“Thank you,” she whispered, smiling softly at him. “You have no idea how much I needed this.”

“If I’d known that all you wanted was a card with some mistletoe, I’d have drawn you a hundred by now,” he joked, but his voice was thick with emotion.

“You’ve already gone above and beyond for me, for the children - and not just these last few weeks or even months.”

“It’s nothing,” he shrugged.

“It’s _everything._ ”

She shifted so that she was sitting up straighter, though Amanda protested at the movement, and let out a soft whine as she almost unlatched.

“I am so incredibly grateful for you, Steve,” Peggy continued when they were both settled. “I’m sorry that I don’t say it more often, because there is not a day that goes by that I don’t feel incandescently happy to have you by my side. To have my right partner here.”

“You have me,” he assured her. “You always will.”

She tilted her head forward and Steve met her halfway until their foreheads were resting against each other.

“The second I’m right as rain I’m going to take care of you, just as you’ve taken care of me. I’m going to spoil you absolutely rotten, my darling,” she promised with a bright smile, her fingers carding through his hair.

Steve grinned and leaned into the touch.

“Sounds perfect.”

“But in the meantime, perhaps I could get that mistletoe kiss?” she grinned slyly.

Steve leaned in to kiss her immediately. He’d never been one to deny his wife what she wanted, after all.

**»»————- ✼ ————-««**

**6\. December 25th, 1958 - Lazy Christmas Mornings**

Peggy woke up to the distant, but loud whispers of Sarah, Elise, and Michael from the other side of her and Steve’s bedroom door. Their excitement meant that she could tell even from this distance away that Sarah and Elise, now seven and five years old respectively, were debating their current strategy while Michael, now two and a half, did his best to try and add his own two cents.

She thought she could also hear Snow, who had taken to sleeping in Ellie’s room for the last three months, as their husky paced around the hallway excitedly, regardless that Steve had already taken him for an early morning walk.

Before Peggy could lament the fact that she’d have to wake up fully sooner rather than later, she was distracted by Steve’s arm pulling her back tighter against his chest.

“Your children are awake,” Peggy mumbled into her pillow.

“Before dawn they’re your children,” he yawned back as Sarah, Elise, Michael, and Snow began racing down the stairs to see if Father Christmas had indeed come.

The rumble she felt against his chest told her he was also chuckling at his own words.

“I’m assuming that since it’s past dawn, this is yet another reference to something I’ll never understand?”

“Not never. Just not for another 40 or so years.”

“You’re lucky I love you, darling,” she yawned.

“Mmm, you’re damn right I am,” he answered, kissing the sensitive spot below her ear.

“You do realize we only have about thirty seconds before that door opens?” Peggy told him as his lips began travelling along her jaw, though she couldn’t deny that she was fighting back a smile.

Unfortunately, she could already hear the footsteps of the children and Snow running back up the stairs and toward their room.

“That’s plenty of time.”

Peggy turned her head to ask him exactly what he thought they could possibly accomplish in that time frame, but her question was muffled by Steve pressing his lips against hers.

She let herself get lost in him as Steve gave her a proper good morning kiss. Slow, but thorough enough that it made her toes curl, creating fluttering butterflies in her stomach that should have been long tempered.

“Merry Christmas, Mrs. Rogers,” he murmured as he finally pulled back, only for his lips to begin trailing along her jaw.

“You’re starting something you can’t finish, Mr. Carter,” she warned breathlessly.

“Tonight,” he promised.

“Promises, promises,” she teased with a smile.

Steve smiled and pressed a last quick kiss to her lips just in time for the front door to open.

“It’s Christmas!” Elise announced loudly as she rushed in and jumped on top of both of them, causing both of them to grunt.

“Wakey wakey!” Sarah squealed, diving in after her.

Snow was next, bounding up from behind where Michael was still toddling in and launching himself on the bed, landing conveniently half-top of Steve.

“You’re all getting heavy,” Steve complained loudly.

Peggy rolled her eyes at his dramatics. Out of the two of of them, he was certainly the one who could stand to take it.

“Christmas!” Michael cheered as he finally clambered up on the bed, taking the opportunity to climb directly on top of Peggy as Sarah, Elise and Snow had taken up all the space in-between their parents.

Peggy smiled at her son’s large grin as he placed his hands on her cheeks and began patting them.

He had recently moved out of his crib into a toddler bed and was clearly more than happy that this year he was finally able to successfully arrive at their traditional Christmas morning cuddles all on his own.

“Hello my little prince,” she greeted happily, turning her head to place a kiss to both of his small, soft palms.

“Hi mumma!”

“Hold on, we’re missing someone very important,” Steve announced to them before untangling himself from Snow and Sarah, and heading out to the nursery.

He came back with a very much awake Mandy in his arms, who grinned at the sight of everyone curled up in bed together and began giggling and wriggling in an attempt to join them.

“Cuddle!” she squealed as Steve climbed back into bed with her.

Peggy sighed contentedly, and brought her arm around Ellie as she burrowed closer.

“I like Christmas morning cuddles,” Elise said decidedly after a few moments of silence.

“Me too,” Sarah murmured.

Peggy looked over to see her eldest nuzzling her face into Steve’s chest. Sarah was at that age where she was becoming more independent, but in moments like these, she was still their little girl.

“Maybe we should just stay here all day then,” Steve offered, a conspiratorial twinkle in his eye as he looked over at Peggy.

“What about presents?” Ellie asked, immediately perking up.

“And breakfast?” Sarah pouted.

“Yeah!” Amanda agreed, giggling as Steve gently tickled her side.

Who she was agreeing with, Peggy was uncertain.

“No I agree with your father,” Peggy announced with a loud yawn. “We’re staying here _all day_.”

“Noooo,” Michael whined, though he contradicted himself by curling his fists around Peggy’s nightgown.

“Nope, we are keeping you all here until further notice,” Steve announced, reaching around and wrapping his arms around all of them.

Mandy laughed and squealed as she was suddenly squished between Steve and Sarah, doing her best to squeeze through them and escape.

Snow, who was clearly advocating for a day cuddled in bed, decided to lay himself directly on top of her to thwart her escape attempt.

Peggy watched with amusement as Steve laughed and pushed Snow off of their little panda bear, earning him a displeased yip.

“Alright alright,” he acquiesced. “What do you say, Peg?”

“Five more minutes?” she pouted.

“Okay,” Ellie sighed dramatically.

“If we have too,” Sarah agreed.

“They get that from you,” Peggy told Steve, hardly able to contain her chuckle.

»»————- ✼ ————-««

Much later, after presents were unwrapped and they’d all eaten a hearty breakfast, Steve took a moment to look at the state of his living room.

The wrapping paper had all been contained and thrown away as nothing had been salvageable, but the contents of their stockings were scattered around the floor.

Sarah was on the couch reading her new book while Peggy was showing Ellie how to braid her new doll’s hair. Michael was colouring enthusiastically in his new colouring book. Amanda was sitting on the floor playing tug-a-war with Snow, who - being well aware of his strength - was happily laying down and only tugging enough to make Amanda lean forward ever so slightly until she laughed and pulled back with all her strength.

With Peggy’s work done, she left Elise as she began to show off her new doll’s hairstyle to her older sister, and made her way toward Steve.

Steve wrapped his arms around her waist as soon as she was within reach.

“Hi,” he grinned, pulling her against him.

“Hi.”

“They look happy,” he noted to her.

“They are happy,” she agreed. “And I am too.”

She moved one of her hands to the back of his head and tangled her fingers in his hair.

“And you, my darling?”

“Happier than I ever could have imagined.”

“Yeah?” she whispered, a gentle smile on her face.

“Of course. Peggy, you’ve given me these four wonderful children and you let me keep Snow when I brought him in from the street-”

“Yes well what was I supposed to do with all those pouting eyes? Between you and the children _and_ the dog,” she said teasingly.

“You’ve given me a life. This life - _our_ life. And I couldn’t be happier.”

Peggy grinned mischievously.

“What about now?”

Steve raised his eyebrow, but a movement above their heads caught his eye. Peggy’s arm was now raised above them.

In-between her thumb and forefinger was a sprig of mistletoe.

“Is that _my_ mistletoe?”

“You’re not the only one here with moves, Mr. Carter.”

“Have you been holding onto that this entire morning?”

“I have no idea what you mean,” she smirked.” “But I do believe that either way I am owed something, Captain.”

“If I must,” he sighed dramatically, but he gathered Peggy closer and dipped her before pressing their lips together.

“ _Ew!”_

Steve pulled his head back to find that they had an audience that consisted of all four of their children and Snow.

“What?” he asked innocently.

“Kissing is really gross,” Sarah told them matter-of-factly.

“Is not,” Peggy answered with a grin, looking at them upside down.

“Is too,” Elise countered, crossing her arms.

“Hey that’s not fair,” Steve told them. “We were under mistletoe, so we had to follow the rules.”

“In fact, I believe we are still technically under the mistletoe, aren’t we, my darling?”

“That we are, Peg,” he grinned. “Which means we have to kiss _again_.”

“No!” Sarah and Elise complained at the same time that Snow let out a bark, his tail wagging.

“Again!” Michael cheered, and Mandy giggled and clapped.

“Gross,” Sarah said, scrunching her nose with disgust.

Steve and Peggy both laughed, and Steve pulled them up so they were both upright.

“Spoil sports,” Peggy teased.

"Alright, who wants hot chocolate?” Steve asked.

“Me!” all four children immediately said, already rushing to the kitchen, Snow hot on their heels.

Peggy shook her head fondly and chuckled, but scooped up Michael when he made grabby hands at her.

“One for me too, please,” she told Steve.

“With pleasure,” he grinned back. “As long as I can have my mistletoe back.”

“Oh no I think I’ll be holding on to this,” Peggy told him with a smirk. “This thing’s handier than I thought.”

**»»————- ✼ ————-««**


End file.
